The Culture Coach
I’m Wendy Brand, Your Culture Coach, dedicated to supporting people-first leaders. Each week we dive into strategies and insights to help you build a workplace where employees feel valued, motivated, and inspired. From fostering tribal values and improving core processes to developing inclusive communities and responsive listening strategies, we cover it all. Join me weekly for practical tips, expert interviews, and real-world examples to help you boost productivity, extinguish burnout and cultivate a vibrant organizational culture that reflects your mission, vision and values.
Episodes
Greetings! This is a replay of an episode from this past summer on my CORE Culture™ Framework. Happy Holidays and I hope you enjoy.
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This week, I'm diving deep into my signature CORE Culture™ Framework, a proven model for helping leaders stop culture from happening by accident and start building one that drives retention, productivity, and purpose.
After a busy season of speaking at SHRM ...
Today on The Culture Coach Podcast, Wendy sits down with Erika Sinner, Founder & CEO of Directorie, a $15M healthcare commercialization company and two-time Inc. 5000 honoree. Erika also serves as the Chief Empathy Officer of TinySuperheroes, a nonprofit empowering critically ill children through play and courage, and is the bestselling author of Pets Are Family.
Erika is a powerful, fresh voice in modern leadershi...
In today’s episode of The Culture Coach Podcast, Wendy sits down with tech executive and author Kae Williams for a candid conversation about the invisible barriers women and marginalized leaders face at work—and the strategies that actually help you navigate them with confidence, clarity, and impact.
Kae has spent decades leading in male-dominated environments across startups, scale-ups, and global tech companies. Thro...
In this week’s episode of The Culture Coach Podcast, Wendy sits down with Farrah Mitra — executive coach, former Bain consultant, Cornell alum, and one of only fifteen Radical Candor™ coaches worldwide. Farrah's career has been built at the intersection of people, performance, and communication, and she brings a rare blend of strategic clarity and deep humanity to the conversations leaders fear most.
Together, Wen...
In this week’s episode of The Culture Coach Podcast, Wendy Brand unpacks the power of conscious leadership—a philosophy popularized by John Mackey (Whole Foods), Steve McIntosh, and Carter Phipps—and how it connects directly to the CORE Culture™ pillars of Clarity, Energy, and Ownership.
Wendy explores what it truly means to lead above the line—where fear is acknowledged but not in control—and how awareness, alignment,...
This week on The Culture Coach Podcast, Wendy sits down with Dave McDonald, founder of the Better Together Group and host of the WTF Podcast, to talk about the unconventional path that led him from being “fired from every good job he ever had” to running a thriving family of staffing agencies dedicated to feeding families one shift at a time.
Dave’s story is full of humility, humor, and heart. Together, Wendy and Dave ...
What’s the real difference between a strong leader and a tough one?
In this solo episode, I’m unpacking one of the biggest shifts in leadership today — moving from command-and-control to human-centered leadership.
After 30 years in corporate leadership, I’ve seen both styles up close. The truth? The leaders who build loyalty, trust, and high performance aren’t the ones barking orders — they’re the ones balancing c...
In this episode of The Culture Coach, Wendy sits down with Janelle Miller Moravek, a nonprofit leader and mental health advocate who has led Youth & Family Counseling as Executive Director since 2009.
Janelle’s leadership journey offers a masterclass in balancing compassion with strategy. She shares how trust is built over time — and how that trust becomes the foundation for psychological safety. Together, Wendy an...
In this episode of The Culture Coach podcast, I sit down with Grant Harris to explore neurodiversity and inclusion in the workplace. Grant shares his journey of discovering his own neurodistinct identity, the strengths that come with it, and how leaders can create more inclusive cultures that unlock hidden brilliance on their teams.
We cover:
- The difference between being neurodiverse, neurodivergent, and neurodistinct
...
What does it really take to lead with confidence in the age of AI? And how can leaders embrace innovation without burning out themselves—or their teams?
In this episode of The Culture Coach Podcast, Wendy sits down with Victoria Mensch, Founder and CEO of the Silicon Valley Executive Academy, to explore the intersection of AI, leadership, and workplace culture.
Victoria shares her perspective on why AI adoption isn’t ju...
What can leaders learn from comedians? As it turns out—quite a lot.
In this episode of The Culture Coach Podcast, Wendy Brand sits down with Kevin Hubschmann, founder of Laugh.Events and author of the Laugh Rx newsletter, to explore how laughter and improv translate into powerful leadership and culture skills.
Kevin shares his journey from being one of the first employees at a SaaS company to building a career in comedy...
What does it take to keep your people’s fire alive—and build organizations where everyone can thrive?
In this episode of The Culture Coach Podcast, Wendy Brand sits down with Telle Whitney—computer scientist, co-founder of the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, former CEO of the Anita Borg Institute, and author of Rebooting Tech Culture: How to Ignite Innovation and Build Organizations Where Everyone Can T...
In this episode, Wendy Brand unpacks why clarity and focus are the quickest wins for CEOs and culture leaders. Without them, even the best teams slip into misalignment, decision fatigue, and constant firefighting. With them, leaders reclaim their energy, teams align around what matters, and culture becomes the system that drives results.
You’ll hear:
- Why clarity is the foundation of every thriving culture
- The differe...
This week, I break down each of the five biggest reasons culture transformations fail—straight out of the latest Harvard Business Review article and echoed in my own work with organizations.
Learn practical ways leaders can avoid these pitfalls and build an intentional culture that actually sticks.
And if you’re ready to go deeper:
👉 Join the Culture Strategy Lab ($57/month community launching Sept. 29) for coachi...
In this episode of The Culture Coach Podcast, I’m pulling back the curtain on three powerful programs I’ve created to help leaders design intentional cultures that prevent burnout, increase performance, and create thriving organizations.
All three programs officially open on September 29th, but you don’t have to wait—when you sign up now, you’ll start receiving updates and get immediate access on launch day.
Here’s what...
As 2025 winds down and 2026 approaches, it’s the perfect time to make sure your workforce is ready for the year ahead—not just your business plan. In this solo episode, Wendy Brand shares why workforce planning should go hand-in-hand with your strategic objectives, and how to make sure your people plan supports your business plan.
Tips on how to:
- Align your workforce with your top business objectives
- Identify and clo...
In this solo episode of The Culture Coach Podcast, Wendy dives into a common but critical leadership crossroads: realizing that the leadership style, team structure, and culture that got you this far… may not be what gets you to your next level.
Inspired by a real coaching conversation with a new CEO, Wendy walks through the process of stepping into a broader, more strategic leadership role. She explores questions ever...
At just 19 years old, Carson Wagner founded Lifetime of Love Nannies with a mission to provide purpose-driven, high-quality care for families and children. What began as a bold leap into entrepreneurship has grown into a nationally recognized agency with three thriving locations and a team of over 75 dedicated employees.
Carson’s unwavering commitment to inclusive, ethical, and relationship-centered childcare has earne...
Hello culture fans!
In this week’s episode of The Culture Coach, I’m joined by Linda Carlisle—
Linda is a fractional corporate communications partner, helping business leaders, VCs, private equity firms, and their portfolio companies solve communication and culture challenges in the Moments that Matter™, including mergers, acquisitions, organizational restructuring, leadership changes, turnarounds, business process rede...
Tired of putting a Band-Aid on your people problems? 🩹
🎙️ On this week’s episode of The Culture Coach Podcast, I sat down with Ted Whetstone—executive coach, systems thinker, and former left-brainer turned whole-brainer.
Ted helps senior leaders stop reacting and start redesigning the way they think, lead, and collaborate.
Here’s a taste of what we covered:
🔁 Why systems thinking is a leadership superpower
...
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